The world’s eye is in Nepal which shares a direct border with China, the first epicenter of COVID19, is still safe in accordance with the data from WHO. Among a total of 177 countries where coronavirus was spotted, Nepal experienced 1 case so far which has already been solved as well. No causalities have been reported so far. Nepal seems to be following the precautionary steps very well in COVID-19 breakdown.
There are significant steps taken in case of infrastructure preparation to deal with the virus. Hospitals’ infrastructure is being upgraded with test-kits and emergency spots selection. Recently a local government in Bagmati Province is successful in setting up a hospital with a capacity of 50 patients in 2 days following China’s path where 1000 bed hospital was constructed and came into operation just in 10 days. It is said that more ICUs and HDUs are being added in the newly constructed hospitals. Some images from the Facebook wall of Renu Dahal – Mayor of Bharatpur Municipality in Chitwan, are presented below.
I’ve been closely following government moves as well as coronavirus data in Nepal and found steps of central and local governments to be satisfactory and applaudable. Some basic preparation for the probable epidemics is being made across the country.
The central government is doing it’s level best to prepare for probable epidemics that could enter Nepal anytime in the future. The government has banned gathering 25 more heads and closed all school colleges until further notice. Many exams scheduled on the line were stopped by the government with a notice and press conference yesterday in the capital, Kathmandu.
I have been following local municipality updates from eastern Nepal and some of the others across the country. Corona is among their first priority. With the involvement of the Nepal Army, Scout Nepal, and other organizations, various campaigns are ongoing to aware and educate people for oral hygiene, self-quarantine and so on. Isolation camp has set-up in Tandi, Morang in Eastern Nepal by Nepal Army today itself.
It seems political parties are standing as one to deal with potential crises right now. With daily press conferences, it’s being easier than before to get close with government notices and announcements. In a sign that Nepal is considered as a high-risk zone by WHO, Nepal must be very serious about the issue and make every effort possible to increase isolation spots, nucleic acid test kits and hospital beds across the country for faster response in the worst-case scenario.